Phillies Star Prospect Justin Crawford Responds to His Critics

At some point in the near future, whether that's this season or next, the Philadelphia Phillies are going to call up Justin Crawford.

The son of 15-year Major League player Carl Crawford is the third-ranked prospect in the Phillies' pipeline, and based on what he's done during his minor league career, he could become a future star for this franchise.

After being selected 17th overall in the 2022 draft out of high school, Crawford has done nothing but impress since his first full season on the farm in 2023.

He's hit over .300 in both campaigns, and that earned him an invite to big league spring training this year where he showcased what he could bring to the table by going 4-for-11 with two walks, one strikeout and two stolen bases.

Philadelphia decided to send him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start this season at 21 years old, wanting to challenge him some more after seeing what he's done to begin his career.

Crawford hasn't missed a beat.

At the time of writing, the lefty hitter is slashing .325/.390/.421 with 10 extra-base hits and 13 RBI in 29 games, walking 14 times while striking out 29 times and stealing 10 bags.

Impressive numbers considering he's one of the few players his age to be in Triple-A.

However, there is still something Crawford's critics point to about his game; he hits too many balls on the ground.

That is certainly a valid critique since it's hindered him from hitting the ball over the fence with zero homers so far this season and 12 blasts across 242 minor league games and 990 at-bats. But that criticism isn't something he's concerned with right now.

Justin Crawford Responds

"My entire life, at least what I've been taught, is to hit the ball hard. Whether it's a ground ball, line drive, or whatever it is, put consistently hard, good contact on the ball ... It's been something where it's kind of like, OK, I take note of maybe I hit more ground balls than people would like, but I also know that's kind of my game, too. So I'm not just going to go and completely revamp my swing to try to hit the ball in the air and hit home runs. I'm going to play my game and be gap to gap," he said in an interview with Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

It's hard to argue with the results that Crawford has produced.

Not many players are able to walk into professional baseball straight out of high school and put together two straight full seasons where they are hitting over .300, something he's on pace to do for a third year in a row.

If Crawford didn't have electric speed then maybe the ground ball concerns would hold more weight.

And as far as the lack of home run power that he possesses, Crawford is also right that things could change once he gets older and stronger.

After hitting just three across 87 games as a 19-year-old in 2023, he hit the most of his career last season at age 20 when he blasted nine long balls in 110 contests.

While Crawford hasn't hit one over the fence just yet this year, he's also facing the highest level of pitching he's ever seen, something that takes some time to get used to when it comes to adjustments.

He'll likely never become a slugging outfielder, but he is a really good hitter who is going to be a weapon for the Phillies whenever he gets called up to The Show.

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